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David B. Ritter

What are some strategies to stop employees from abusing intermittent FMLA leave?

01/14/2011
Q. What can an employer do to make sure employees are not abusing intermittent FMLA leave?

Employers don’t have unlimited right to dig for psychiatric records

01/14/2011

When an employee sues you and you know or suspect he may be mentally unstable, it’s tempting to dig for mental health records—perhaps to question his credibility. But if the employee isn’t claiming mental damages, don’t count on even accessing those records.

What are the rules on personnel files? An employee keeps asking for access

12/09/2010
Q. We have an employee who frequently asks to review his personnel file. How often are we required to allow an employee to review his personnel file? How often do we have to make sure it is up-to-date?

Can we prohibit texting at work based on the Supreme Court’s recent Quon decision?

12/09/2010
Q. What lessons should employers take from the Supreme Court’s decision in City of Ontario v. Quon? That’s the case about the texting police officer. We want to ban personal texting at work.

Does USERRA cover part-time employees?

12/09/2010
Q. Are part-time employees covered by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act? We have a part-time employee who frequently takes time off for National Guard training and was even called to active duty in Iraq last year. He wanted his job back plus the raise others got while he was gone.

What’s the Illinois law on voting leave?

12/09/2010
Q. Looking ahead to the next elections, what are an employer’s requirements to give voting leave to employees in Illinois?

Pestering employees about retirement may backfire badly

12/09/2010
A federal district court recently addressed the issue of pretext in an age discrimination case. In Goodpaster v. Materials Handling Equipment (No. 09-0059, ND IN, 2010) the court held that management’s repeated and coercive inquiries about retirement to a 59-year-old employee may imply age discrimination.

Can a severance agreement waiving age claims prevent an ADEA suit?

11/15/2010
Q. We are considering terminating an employee who will turn 41 this month. Can we ask him to sign a severance agreement that includes a release of his age discrimination claims under the ADEA?

What hours can young teenagers work?

11/15/2010
Q. We have several employees who are 14 and 15 years old. Could you provide the specifics of the new regulations the U.S. Department of Labor recently issued relating to the work hours for these employees?

What can the HIRE Act do for our company?

11/15/2010
Q. How can the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act help us add staff?